MurrayMadness 4x4 build!

Going to Show off all the steps i took to make my murray 4x4.

It all Started by me gaining access to an AWS craftsman back in june of 2016. Once i got my hands on it i just couldnt help myself.

So After acquiring this AWS Craftsman i decided that if i used the original Peerless it came out of it would not be geared quite the same no matter what i did because it was a different series peerlees my guess was in the 900 series. So After doing some you tube research i came up with the plan to take a broken Mst 206-502c peerless and use it as my gearbox. I had this gearbox on the back until one day i was being towed by an atv at a high speed and this transaxle found its way in reverse in motion. i destroyed the shift fork protruding from the case but for this assignment i had to replace that anyway because the murray design uses a tall shift shaft and i needed the short one used by craftsman. So after busting open the case and doing the axle swap all i found i had to do was swap the pinion gears to the shafts and everything went together smoothly!

So after i sealed up the trans-axle with rtv sealant, and filled it with 80w-95 Gear case oil that i had left over from what i put in the lower unit of our old boat. The next step was to do the mock up and to disassemble all of the front end components. (Spindles, Front end Bracket, Drag links, Steering gear, Mounting plate, Hood) i then used a square ATV jack to lift the axle to the tractor to the position i wanted it (this meant 3 hours of precise measurement and with a small level to make sure it was straight level and centered.  

After all the Measuring i picked up some angle steel and some factory L brackets from another Murray and went to work. I did use some very thin steel to attatch it to the frame but i plan on using tube steel as cross members. I did my very best not only to position the rotation point of the U joint in about the same position as the factory spindles rotated becasue i would be forever tortured if the wheels sat in front of the hood. Also if you look very closely i had to bend up the very front of the engine mount plate as it was bent down it wouldn't allow a belt to come up the pulley and i will get more in to detail on that when i get into the belt traction design. If you are building one please take all the time you need to get it straight it will be a never ending nightmare if you don't

OK so after i finished up the trans mounting i then realized it was time for some wheels and hubs. i wanted to use factory Yamaha grizzly Wheels that were mated with 25 inch Maxxis Mudders on 12 inch rims. Those that follow me on Instagram and on the Facebook pages know i originally wanted to sue 27 inch Bighorn 2.0 on a 14 inch rim but those created some complications and i threw out that plan. I took the original 3bolt rims off the front and the factory rear wheels and cut out just the centers so i could make my own Adapters to go from cotter pin to 4bolt on the back and a 3 bolt to 4 bolt on the front. I used some flat steel and i cut holes in all 24, 2inch long pieces that i cut. I decided that since it was not hardened steel that wheel studs would only strip out so i decided to use regular bolts and i welded them to my flat steel so they were locked in to place. I will do this to the back as well but i needed longer bolts for the back since the rear rim is deeper than the front.

So obviously the inner child of mine decided i was gonna throw on the wheels and tires and hood so i could finally see what it would look like What you will notice is that i had to turn the front wheels inside out because they were hitting the hood bolted on the correct way but hey little stance never hurt nobody right?

So after i got my little giggle out of seeing it up on four wheels i had to unbolt them and rip out the rear trans. why you ask? well this is where we get into the belt system. the system i decided on i actually copied from wetheralmaplefarm on YouTube. what i wanted to do was to eliminate the need for a double clutch one to actuate rear and another to actuate front. I used a double stacked pulley on the rear trans using the lower pulley to drive the front trans, if you've read the previous you remember me mentioning the plate i bent up. well the reason i did this is because on a Murray design it has a top plate on the top of the frame for the engine and a lower plate on the bottom of the frame to house the steering components and steering shaft support. i have about 5-8 inches max of room to run a belt through to get to the front trans. and since i ran i pulley below the original one it set it down lower and it just barely had enough clearance to run the belt through.

man this thing is sweet. I assume its the one in your profile pic?

Yes it is the one in my profile i will have a diffrent thread with how it got to that point

if it relates to that tractor, why not put it here? why make two threads instead of one?

Cool build man. Had no idea those AWS knuckles were so big. I've never seen them on a transaxle before though.

So after i got the belt situation all buttoned up i ran in to a wall, i had not collected the parts i needed for the steering components. so i went ahead and decided to go the wiring on the console for the engine i had choose, which was an 17 hp opposed briggs. i already had a push button start but before i was using the factory key switch so i decided to junk that and add a toggle switch. i used wire loom and the factory connections and just spliced and butt connected the other connections.

Ok so one of the last landmark steps in this build was the steering, i went with a direct steer plan that i used on the racing mowers. it encompasses a 3inch extension of the steering shaft (i welded a 13/16 harbor freight socket to the steering gear) i flat pieces of steel pointing at the RH side if your sitting on the tractor, and have the steel bent at a 45 degree angle after the extension so that the 45 is flat with the frame of the tractor. Then next you would make a drag link (i used one of a craftsman that was pre bent) and drilled adjustment holes in the 45 end and then proceeded to hook it to the LH spindle (its critical you dont mess that part up it will cause to steer opposite) and i welded a flat steel piece to the bottom of my spindle and attatched the drag link to it and got the adjustment holes drilled and adjusted it to where it would steer it to full lock (hitting the steering stop). then i ran a tie rod (pictured below) from the LH spindle to the RH spindle. I made this tie rod out of tube steel and welded some adjustable ends to them (heim joints) and adjusted it to where it was in sync with the LH spindle and was turning to full lock. Also after i completed this i added some square tube inside the frame for extra bracing (cross memebers) for added strength.

So after adding cross members to the frame and buttoning up the steering it was completed, i piped the engine, pluged in the electrical and replaced the upper drive belt, and it was done so far it is doing great having a slight rub somewhere on my belt but getting it sorted out. all i really need to do now is make a forward shifter for it and it is complete!

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBE CHANNEL AS MURRAYMADNESS

Looking good. Do you notice much more traction with a 4wd than a normal rear wheel drive tractor?

Looks good. One thing I would suggest improving on is filling in that space between the knuckle mount and frame with a full block so the bottom of the mount has some extra support.